The Thunder vs. the Bobcats 3/17/10

There are times when you have to step-up and say “this is my place” and then prove it. The ‘Cats did just that with a hard-fought victory against the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Bobcats, without All-Star Gerald Wallace, overcame a miserable first quarter to beat the Thunder. They still shot a lousy 65.6% from the free throw line, but had energy and defense that was lacking the previous night against the Pacers. Stephen Graham had another stellar night, scoring 19 points and 5 rebounds. Stephen Jackson was a strong second half presence for the ‘Cats scoring 18 of his 20 points when the game was on the line. Graham has certainly established his position as a reliable back-up while filling in for the injured Gerald Wallace, equaling his career record of 19 points. The Thunder have a very talented, athletic, and energetic group of players but the Bobcats said “this is our place” and controlled the fourth quarter!

Raymond Felton had a big night with 17 points and 7 assists with no turn-overs. One of the Bobcat killers, turn-overs, was cut in half from the previous night’s game. Every NBA team gives themselves a chance to win if they can keep TOs under ten and the ‘Cats had only nine for the game. Free-throws, the other ‘Cats killer, was a miserable 65.6% and has to be a concern as the Bobcats continue their play-off surge. The win gives the Bobcats a chance to gain a game on the Bucks (playing LA Clippers), but they remain in sixth place in the East at this writing. The Charlotte team expects All-Star forward Gerald Wallace to return for their next game when they visit the Atlanta Hawks.

The Good:

Stephen Graham.

Limited turn-overs (9).

Stephen Jackson with 18 second-half points.

Raymond Felton with 17 points, 7 assists, 0 turn-overs.

The Bad:

The first quarter.
The Ugly:

Free-throw shooting (21-32, 65.6%).

Next game for the Bobcats: Wednesday 3/19/10 7:30pm at Atlanta Hawks

If the NBA draft lottery is fixed, what would be the results that would make David Stern the happiest? For this exercise we’ll focus on the teams 1 through 3.

Here we go.

1.  Oklahoma City Thunder – With the #1 pick this will allow the Thunder to draft (from their own backyard) Blake Griffin. Pairing Blake Griffin along with Kevin Durant solidifies their frontcourt (and their new fanbase) for the foreseeable future.

2.  New York Knicks – This will be the team that beats the long odds and moves way up the draft board… and this is why. With the #2 pick in the draft the New York Knicks select Ricky Rubio.

There have been rumors that Steve Nash would like to find his way to New York so that he could be reunited with Mike D’Antoni, but why get the old Steve Nash when you can have the next Steve Nash? Letting Rubio run the show next season in Mike D’Antoni’s offense would be a treat for the basketball senses and if he does a decent job then it would also give the Knicks a little added leverage at the end of next season during the “Summer of Lebron”.

3. Washington Wizards – The Wizards had an awful season, a slew of injuries (again) and approximately a zillion dollars tied up in Agent Zero who hasn’t exactly been the picture of health over the last two seasons. So lets just say that David Stern decides to throw them a bone. With the third pick in the draft, the Wizards select Hasheem Thabeet. The Wizards need inside help, they are in Big East country and with Arenas, Butler and Jamison they aren’t in desperate need of wings.

So that it, David Stern’s dream scenario. What could he like better than that?

It’s official, We are mathematically eliminated from the playoffs. Group Hug anyone??? Ewwww… Maybe not.

The problems that we had against the Thunder tonight were really a microcosm of the ones that have popped up this season.

Problem #1 – Raymond Felton’s shooting. He was 4-16 from the floor tonight and 40.4% from the field and 28.6% from three point range so far this season. This is even more troubling because Ray leads the team in attempts per game and normally takes the shot when the game is on the line. We’ve argued about this in our forums quite a bit.

Problem #2 – Emeka’s lack of shots. Last night he only had 5 attempts. Admittedly his hands aren’t the greatest and he has a tendancy not to finish strong, but you can’t give up on feeding the post all together.

Problem #3 – DJ’s assist numbers. He had 3 last night in 35 minutes (3.5 apg in 26 minutes per for the season). If he is truly going to be a PG then those numbers have to go up. One thing that’s going to keep him on the floor is that beautiful shot. 44.3% from three point range is currently 7th best in the league… Not bad for a rookie. Need a 10 page thread discussing DJ’s assist numbers? Here you go.

Highlights from last night’s game:

I’m honestly, kind of freaking out about the last few weeks in Bobcats history.  6 straight wins is a big deal.  Legit chances in playoff hunt is a huge deal.  Wheeling and dealing and making mini-roster moves to get ready for the playoffs and just getting set and ready under a legit coach and a front office that may have learned their lessons, even bigger.  I’m looking for a little context.  I feel like I’m not supposed to talk about it.  I hit bobcatsplanet.com and there it is, uncharted territory, 6 straight, playoffs but shhhhh, are we really supposed to be talking about this?  Isn’t it kind of like a no-hitter?  No one talks about it until it’s over?  I mean I was ready to be Randy Quaid in Major League for the next 2-3 years.  I’m not even sure how to act exactly.
 
All I can think to do is look at the “recent” NBA expansion teams.  20 years work for you?  The last important team to me in the NBA was of course, the Hornets of the 1988 expansion class.  They came in with Miami.  Miami has won a championship but that was like 2006?  18 years?  New Orleans, Charlotte, you can’t really talk about what the Hornets are or what they’ve done because of the move and because of Katrina, right?  They’re in good hands with Chris Paul and his current teammates.
 
1989 brought Minnesota, Orlando and yours truly’s first kiss.  Yeah, 7 years old and I laid one on her, we were playing wedding because that’s the only way you could get the girls in the neighborhood to stay close enough to you to throw things at them, ahhh one of the twins, Lorrine or Lorraine and I’m not making up those names folks.  Anyway, peak for Orlando could be right now or last year but really, it’s got to be the Shaq/Penny team that went to the finals and lost against Houston in one of the Jordanless years of the ’90s.  Minnesota might have made a finals, maybe with KG?  Actually, I don’t remember them as an expansion team but whatever, they’re up there in Minnesota, aye, who keeps up with them?
 
Nothing happened until 1995 when the Panthers came into existence along with the two teams that made the “National Basketball Association” “International” with Toronto and Vancouver.  Toronto is still Toronto but The Grizzlies kept the name, lost Big Country and moved to Memphis, where there are no Grizzlies but there are plenty of guys you could call “Big Country.”  Memphis has never really done anything, I can’t remember them making the playoffs, maybe once with Gasol?  Toronto’s peak came over an All-Star Weekend when Tracy McGrady tossed an ally-oop to Vince Carter in the sickest Slam Dunk performance ever.  We’ll actually research these in a minute, I’m just making a list right now, I think….
 
2004 our dearly beloved Bobcats came into existence and that would end our list, except Wikipedia claims Oklahoma City’s Thunder is an expansion team (though they maintain the roster of the Sonics?”  First I’ve heard of this.  Either way, they don’t count.  Charlotte’s highest win total would be 33 and the biggest national moment would have to be Okafor’s Rookie of the Year award?  Until the playoffs actually happen, I’m not sure if you can say the triple overtime Lakers victory or the Boston overtime victory or the Phoenix beatdown could measure up to Okafor’s ROY trophy on a national scale.
 
So, we’re in year 5 right now, 28-35, fourth in the Southeast and tied for 10th in the East, 1 game out of the 8th spot.  How did the other expansion teams in my cognizant lifetime fare in the first 5 years?  Hell, this is starting to feel like a research paper, more tomorrow or the next day…I’ve got some work to do.